After February 24, 2022, more than 4 million Ukrainians left for Poland, running away from the war. Many of them decided not to return to their homeland for the first time, and to try live in a new country. Obviously, it will not be possible to get citizenship quickly, so many foreigners received a temporary residence permit.
For the last six months, the network has been discussing the possible changes in the laws of Ukraine and was afraid that the changes would affect people abroad. Just recently a new law was signed, which led to long queues for passports in Poland. In this article we will look into the reasons for such a rush to change passports and tell you what Ukrainians should do in Poland.
Why did Ukrainians in Poland start changing their passports massively?
Quite recently, namely on April 11, 2024, a new law on mobilization No. 10449 was adopted in Ukraine. It would seem how this law can affect citizens who are in another country. The whole point is that according to the new changes, only those Ukrainians who have military registration documents can receive services in consulates and embassies of Ukraine in other countries.
As a result, Ukrainians in the future will not be able to get a passport, renew it or use other services if they do not have a military ID. Therefore, people who do not want to get on the military register started to renew their passports even before the law came into force.
How much time do foreigners have?
Although the new law on mobilization was signed only on April 11, 2024, it will come into force only from May 18, 2024. The Ukrainian authorities envisioned that it may take some time to update their personal data. Therefore, Ukrainians abroad have as much as 60 days from the moment the law comes into force. That is, from May 18 to July 17, 2024 you can easily update your personal data and use the services of consulates. Further, when applying to a consulate or embassy for services, you will be asked for your military registration documents.
Can women and the elderly use consulate services? Yes, persons who are not subject to military service can continue to update their documents abroad and use other consular services without problems.
Should you change your passport now?
Over the past week, large queues of people wishing to replace their old passports have been observed in Polish cities. If your passport is about to expire, we still recommend renewing it in advance. However, this is extremely difficult to do at the moment due to the large number of applicants. Moreover, today you can replace your international passport only by electronic queue. People note that it is simply unrealistic to get a ticket now.
